Machine for finishing the edges of shoe parts



May'ZO; "1941. E. E. Hooi-ER MACHINE FOR FINISHING THE EDGES OF SHOE PARTS Filed Sept. 8, 1939 3 Shets-Sheet 1 v May 20, 1941. F. E. HooPER 2,242,423- MACHINE FOR FINISHING THE EDGES OF SHO PARTS Filed Sept. 8, .1939 3 Sh`eezs-Sheet 2 May"2fo,1941f." F. EHC-OPER 2 2,242,428

K MACHINE FOR FIISHING THE EDGES OF SHOE PARTS l Filed Sept. 8, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Anf/V70@ Patented May 20, 1941 UNITED STTS PATET MACHINE FOR FINISHING THE EDGEIS OF SHOE PARTS Application September 8, 1939, Serial No. 293,995

HCE

3 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to a machine for finishing the edges of pieces of flexible material and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for finishing the rear edges of toe tips which are to be used in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

In the preparation of toe tips for use in making boots and shoes, it is customary in some cases to apply a searing heat along the edge on the flesh side to shrink that side and to cause the unshrunken grain side to curl toward the shrunken flesh side so as to produce a finished edge which is all grain. It is desirable that the edge which is to be shrunk should not exceed a given thickness, particularly when the leather of which the toe tip is made is of a hard refractory nature, since otherwise the shrinking operation is liable not to shrink and curl the edge as it should.

According to the present invention, there is provided, in a machine for shrinking the edge of a piece of iiexible material, mechanism for evening to a predetermined uniform thickness the edges of all blanks which exceed that thickness before the blanks reach the shrinking mechanism and to permit to pass to the shrinking mechanism without evening all blanks the edges of which are equal to or less than said predetermined thickness. In rthe illustrated machine, which is provided with mechanism for skiving the edges of all blanks on an abrupt angle preparatory to the operation of the shrinking mechanism, there is provided an edge-evening mechanism including a support over which the margins of the blanks are fed and a lmife arranged with its edge located a predetermined distance above the support so that all blanks, the edges of which have a thickness greater than the distance from the knife to the support, are evened while those having a thickness equal to or less than that are not evened.

This and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims. p

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan of a portion of a machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 1a is a cross-section of a pant. of a toe tip;

Fig. 2 is a View, principally in elevation, of the edge-evening mechanism, a toe tip being shown in process of having its edge evened;

Fig. 3 is a detail in elevation of the mechanism for engaging and feeding the rear margin of a toe tip; and

Fig. 4 is a plan of the evening mechanism and the mechanism for driving it.

The machine of Patent No. 1,989,682, granted February 5, 1935 upon an application led in the name of John B. Coffey, is designed 'to operate upon the rear margin of a toe tip |09 (Fig. la) by feeding said margin past a skiving and shrinking mechanism which first skives the edge at an abrupt angle of about 45, as indicated by the line S-S, and then shrinks the skived edge by a searing heat applied to the skived (usually flesh) side, thereby causing the` unshrunken (usually the grain) side to curl 'toward the shrunken side so as to present along the rear end of the toe tip a nished edge. 'I'he rear margin of the toe tip, after having been thus operated upon to have its edge finished, is fed past a punching mechanism which makes a row of ornamental perforations along said iinished edge. It is desirable that the edge which is skived by the patented machine at an abrupt angle, as indicated by the line S-S, should not exceed a predetermined thickness since, if this edge is above a certain thickness (the distance from a to b),

the shrinking Operation is liable not to shrink and curl the edge as it should. The present invention provides a mechanism for insuring that the thickness of the edge shall not exceed the desired predetermined maximum. If the edge eX- ceeds this desired maximum, as does the edge of the blank H30, said edge will be reduced to the maximum desired thickness by a cut indicated by the line E-E. If the edge is just equal to or less than the desired thickness it will not be reduced.

Before describing in detail what is new, a brief description of what is old willbe given. The tip carriers, one of which is indicated at A, are rotated about a vertical post which is part of a friction-driving means D for the carriers, the axis of said post containing the center of curvature of the edges of the rear ends of the toe tips which are so held that their rear margins project from #the jaws of the carriers. Each carrier is brought to rest, with the jaws open, at a loading station L, where it is supplied with a toe tip by the operator, who then depresses a treadle, whereupon the jaws close upon the toe tip, and the carrier makes a complete revolution in a horizontal path. During parts of this revolution it is driven by the friction-driving means referred to above; but at such times as a toe tip is being fed past an operating mechanism the carrier is positively driven by gears which engage a segmental rack R fast to the under side of the carrier. 'I'he rear margin of the toe tip is rst fed past a skiving and shrinking mechanism B, which operates, as has been stated, to skive the edge at an abrupt angle and then to shrink and curl this edge; it is then fed past a punching mechanism C which forms a row of ornamental perforations along the nished edge; and, after this last operation, the jaws of the clamp are opened, the toe tip is discharged and the carrier comes to rest at the loading station L ready to receive another ltoe tip. 'I'he radii of the curved rear edges of toe tips vary according to styles, and it is necessary to fit and adjust the machine for the particular radius of curvature of the rear edges of the toe tips which are to be operated upon inany given instance. To this end the frictiondriving mechanism D, including the vertical post about which the carriers are rotated, and the perforating mechanism C are adjustable to the right or left, as viewed in Fig. 1, as may be necessary; and the arms, at the outer ends of which the tip carriers are mounted, are removed and replaced by shorter or longer arms. The work table at the loading station L is adjustable to the right or left with the driving mechanism D and is also adjustable toward or from the axis about which the tip carriers rotate. The bases of the driving mechanism D and of the -punching mechanism C are adjustably mounted upon the bed plate of the machine, said bed plate being provided with longitudinal slots G through which and through said bases pass clamping bolts to hold these mechanisms in adjusted positions. The machine as thus far described is or may be the same as the machine of the patent to which reference is made for details of its construction.

'Ihe edge-evening or reducing cut E-E (Fig. la) is a scarf made by a mechanism indicated as a whole at H (Fig. 1) which is located between the loading station L .and the skiving and the shrinking mechanism B. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the mechanism H comprises a flat support 1 over which the rear margin of a toe tip I'GU is fed, a presser 9 for holding .the margin down upon the support and upon a rotary toothed wheel I I, and a knife I3 which makes the cut. The toe tip is fed primarily by the carrier A which at this time is being positively driven by a gear I5 which is in engagement with the segmental rack R of the carrier. the toe tip is aided and the rear margin is maintained flat during the evening operation by the presser 9, the support 'I, the toothed wheel II, and another toothed wheel I'I which is driven at the same speed as the wheel II and, like the wheel I l, projects up through an opening in the support l. A chip deilector I8 turns aside the chip removed by the knife I3 and thus prevents it from becoming lodged upon the toe tip.-

The wheels II, I'I are fast to short shafts rotatably mounted in a casting I9 which is fastened by cap screws 2I to the flat end of a base 23 by which all of the edge-reducing or evening mechanism is carried. Also rotatably mounted in the casting I9 is a short shaft 25, at the outer end of which is a gear-wheel 26 which drives the toothed wheels II', II both in the same direction. Adjustably fastened to the inner end of the short shaft 2'5 is a bevel-gear 21 bywhich the shaft is driven. Rotatably mounted in bearings in a second casting 29, which is adjustably fastened to the base 23 (Fig. 4) by a screw 3l passing through a slot 33 formed in a lug on said casting, is a vertical shaft 35 (Fig. 2) to the upper end of which is fastened the gear I5 which The feeding of .drives the carrier A'during the operation of the knife I3. To an intermediate portion of the shaft 35 is adjustably fastened a bevel-gear 31 which meshes with a bevel-gear 21. Near the lower end of the shaft 35 is fastened a bevel-gear 39 which is driven by a bevel-gear 4I on one end of a long horizontal shaft 43 to the remote end of which (Fig. 4) is fastened a bevel-gear 45. The remote end of the shaft 43 is rotatable in a small bracket 41 adjustably fastened to the base 23 by a screw 49 which passes through a slot 5I in a lug on the bracket. The bevel-gear 45 meshes with a bevelgear 5I] on a rotary upright shaft 53. This upright shaft 53 is the same shaft which is indicated by the numeral II4 in Fig. 5 of the patent, said shaft of the patent serving to drive the gear, indicated in the patent by the numeral |09, which engages successively the segmental racks on the under sides of the ltip carriers and moves the carriers past the skiving and shrinking mechanism. Since the bevel-gears 50, 45, 4I and 39, through which the gear I5 is driven, are all of the same size, this gear I5 is rotated at the same speed as the corresponding rack-engaging gears of the patented machine.

The shaft 55, upon the upper end of which the rotary disk knife I3 is mounted, is rotatable in ball bearings contained in a generally cylindrical casing 57, said casing being pivoted about the stems of alined screws, one of which is shown at 59. These screws pass through alined holes in the forks of a yoke 6I, the base of which extends between the substantially upright spaced arms of a bracket 62 and is pivoted to the spaced arms by screws (i3, 65. The lower portion of the bracket 62 is horizontal and is adjustably fastened to the base 23 by screw bolts 61 (Fig. 4) which pass through slots in ears on the bracket 62 and are threaded into the base. The knife casing 5'I, and with it the knife I3, may be raised and lowered about the pivot screws G3, 65 by turning a screw 69 which is threaded through an extension on the yoke 6I and abuts with its lower end a part of .the casting I9. This adjustment determines the thickness to which all rear edges of toe tips, which are above that thickness, will be reduced. This thickness may vary somewhat but will ordinarily be not less than .025 of an inch. The yoke 6I is urged downwardly at all times about the pivot screws 63, 65, by a compression spring 19, the lower end of which rests upon the bottom of a socket in the yoke and the upper end of which engages the head of a screw 'I2 which is threaded into the casting I9. In order to permit the angle of the evening scarf cut by the knife to be varied, a downwardly projecting arm IBI' of one of the forks of the yoke 6I has a slot 1I through which passes the stem of a screw 'I2 which is threaded into the knife casing 51. A belt 73 passes around a pulley 'I5 on the lower end of the knife shaft and around a pulley 'I'I (Fig. 1) mounted upon the upper end of ashaft 'I9 which is driven by gearing, not shown, from the main drive shaft 8l of the machine. The base 23, which supports all of the edge-evening mechanism just described, rests upon the bed plate 83 of the machine and is adjustably held in place by headed bolts 85 (Fig. 2) the stems of which pass up through the slots G (Fig. 1) in 'the bed plate and through the base 23 and'have nuts 81 threaded upon their upper ends. The whole edge-evening mechanism may thus be adjusted longitudinally of the machine.

The presser 9 (Fig. 3) has extending up from it a round stem 89 which is mounted for vertical sliding movement in a block 9|, a' compression spring 93 tending at all times to move the presser down as far as a nut 95 threaded upon the upper end of the stem will permit. A check nut 91 prevents the nut 95 from loosening. In order to preventl the presser from turning, a small guide pin 99 carried by the presser extends up into a bore in the block 0|. This lblock is carried at the outer end of a horizontal stem |0| Which is adjustably held by a set screw |03 in a socket in the horizontal arm of ya generally rightangled holder |05, the lower end of the upright portion of Which is adjustably fastened by a set screw |01 (Fig. 1) in a bore formed in an extension or ear on the base 23.

In the operation of the machine the rear margin of each toe tip is fed rst to the evening mechanism Where the thickness of its edge is reduced, if it exceeds a predetermined thickness, after which the 'toe tip passes successively to the skiving and shrinking mechanism and to the perorating mechanism.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a machine which skives the edge of a blank at an abrupt angle preparatory to applying a searing heat to said edge to shrink it, it should be understood that this perparatory abrupt skiving may in some cases be dispensed with, and the shrinking heat applied to the edge o1 the blank which, after having passed the edgeevening mechanism, is never above a predetermined maximum thickness.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for operating upon blanks of sheet material having in combination a carrier for blanks, means for moving the carrier bodily in a predetermined path, mechanism arranged along said path for skiving and shrinking the edge of a blank held by the moving carrier, and mechanism arranged to operate before the operation of the skiving and shrinking mechanism for evening to a predetermined uniform thickness the edges of all blanks Which exceed said predetermined thickness and to permit to pass Without evening the edges of all blanks the thicknesses of which are equal to or less than said predetermined thickness.

2. A machine for operating upon blanks oi sheet material having in combination a carrier for blanks, means for moving the carrier bodily in a predetermined path, mechanism arranged along said path for skiving and shrinking the edge of a blank held by the moving carrier, mechanism arranged to operate before the operation of the skiving and shrinking mechanism for evening to a predetermined uniform thickness the edges of all blanks Which exceed said predetermined thickness and to permit to pass Without evening the edges of all blanks the thicknesses of Which are equal to or less than said' predetermined thickness, and perforating merchanism arranged to operate after the operation of the skiving and shrinking mechanism.

3. A machine for operating upon blanks of sheet lmaterial having in combination, a carrier for blanks, means for moving the carrier bodily in a predetermined path, mechanism arranged along Vsaid path for skiving on an abrupt angle the edge of a blank held by the moving carrier and for shrinking said edge, and mechanism arranged to operate Ibefore the operation of the shrinking mechanism for evening to a predetermined thickness the edges of all blanks which exceed said predetermined thickness and to permit to pass Without evening the edges of all blanks, the thicknesses of Whichare equal to or less than said predetermined thickness.

FREDERICK E. I-IOOPER. 

